While creating and implementing landing pages into your marketing strategy won’t be as phenomenal as the first landing on the moon, it will provide a ‘giant leap’ for your marketing strategy.

Landing pages are ideal for converting visitors after they arrive at your website. Yet, there’s a common question on why a site’s homepage wouldn’t be able to do that. In fact, according to Marketing Sherpa, 44% of clicks for B2B companies are directed to the business’ homepage, not a special landing page.

So let’s talk landing pages:

What is a landing page?

How does it work?

How can I make the most of it?

Should I have more than one?

What is a landing page?

Simply put, it’s the first page you’d “land on” after clicking a link. With this definition, a landing page could be your homepage, a blog post, a product page, a lead capture page, etc.

In the marketing realm, it’s more specific. When we talk about landing pages, we mean a webpage that’s been specifically designed to convert traffic from digital marketing efforts. There’s strategy backing the process of leading visitors to this page, in an effort to encourage them to perform a certain action such as making a purchase, calling your business, filling out a form or subscribing to an email list.

How does it work?

This behind-the-scenes process will look similar to the following:

STEP 1: A user interacts with a call-to-action and ends up on a landing page with a form

STEP 2: The visitor fills out a form, converting them from a visitor into a lead.

STEP 3: The information from the form fields is then stored in your leads database.

STEP 4: Your business can market specifically to the lead, based on what you know from the information given.

How can I make the most of it?

Landing pages can feature a limitless variety of elements and serve an infinite number of purposes. But, here are some tips to get you started on making the most of your page:

Set a Goal – What’s the purpose of your landing page? In order to make this tactic truly effective, you’ll need to set the goal of the page. From there, you can establish a strategy to accomplish the task using the other elements on your page.

Determine Your Audience – Who will be visiting this page? Determining your audience helps to shape the design and copy of your page. Make the most of your page by establishing a plan for new visitors/subscribers as well as one for returning visitors.

Design – The design of your landing page is a crucial element to focus on. With a confusing or cluttered layout, visitors will most likely bounce before completing any desired action. The design should guide visitors to your call-to-action, without distracting them along the way. Make forms easy to read and identify so that your visitors will feel comfortable submitting their information.

Compelling Copy – Like any content marketing campaign, compelling copy is a differentiator used to grab your visitor’s attention and encourages them to convert.

Build Trust – Reviews and testimonials build your business’s credibility with the viewer. 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Share the positive words and experiences your customers have had with your company!

Thank You Page – Use a thank you page after the visitor completes your call to action! You can utilize this page to provide additional information, offers, or content. By doing so, visitors continue to be engaged and hopefully, moving through the sales funnel.

Should I have more than one?

Simply put: yes. But how many specifically?

Studies have shown that business websites with 10-15 landing pages tend to increase conversions by 55% over business websites with less than 10 landing pages. Those with more than 40 landing pages increase conversions by over 500%.

Probability says the more landing pages you have, the more opportunities to convert your visitors. However, quality over quantity is more important in this situation.

While having 10 landing pages would be great for your business, it doesn’t help very much if those pages aren’t optimized. If the design is cluttered, the copy is full of errors and the call-to-action seems fishy, you won’t see the conversions.

Another factor to consider is your individual product. The length of your sales cycle and the buyer’s journey will determine how much information the buyer needs before purchasing. If more information is needed, you’ll need to create more landing pages that provide this information. If your business is offering a relatively inexpensive consumer good, a single landing page may do the trick.

Knowing your business, your sales process and your target audience is essential in creating effective landing pages. Looking at the bigger picture and where landing pages fit into your entire lead generation strategy will provide you with the best results.